SHERLOCK Casts Toby Jones as Classic Doyle Villain

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All three series of BBC’s Sherlock, not to mention the most recent Christmas special, have been largely about Sherlock’s obsession with his arch-nemesis James “Jim” Moriarty. And while the show has certainly used its fair share of well-known stories and villains from the canon of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, there’s many more from which to choose, and acclaimed actor Toby Jones has been cast as the baddie to go up against Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. But which villain will he portray?

As Entertainment Weekly is reporting Monday morning, PBS’ Masterpiece has announced that Jones has been cast as the baddie in the second of three new episodes that’ll make up the fourth series of the popular sleuthing program. Jones is no stranger to playing bad guys; he gave great turns as Dr. Arnim Zola in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as a wonderful turn as the Dream Lord in the Doctor Who episode “Amy’s Choice.”

However, true to form, no one is saying which villain Jones will be playing in Sherlock. Co-creator and executive producer Steven Moffat only said th following: “Delighted to have Toby Jones on board, bringing to life one of Doyle’s finest villains.”

One of Doyle’s finest villains, eh? Who could that be? Taking into account the baddies who’ve already been used in the show, here are the top 5 most likely people candidates (in no particular order):

1) John Clay
Clay is the baddie in the Doyle story “The Red-Headed League” and is described by Holmes in the text as the fourth smartest man in London. His scheme involves using a legitimate business as a front to drill into a neighboring business to steal Napoleon’s gold.

2) James Windibank
Windibank was Holmes’ foil in the story “A Case of Identity” in which he attempts to defraud his grown stepdaughter via a complicated plot involving him fabricating and pretending to be a totally new person with whom the stepdaughter becomes engaged. That’d be a real whirlwind of an episode.

3) Baron Adelbert Gruner
The Baron is an Austrian nobleman appearing in the story “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client.” He’s a philanderer and murderer who “collects women” and ruins their lives. Holmes is hired to stop him from doing the same to his latest mistress. While the character is supposed to be a tall, handsome Lothario, it might be cool to see the versatile Jones attempt such a person.

4) Heinrich Von Bork
A villain appearing in the very famous story “His Last Bow,” Von Bork is a German spy who resembles a British nobleman named Barnham and killed him and assumed his identity to send intel back to the motherland. While Germany isn’t at war with the UK anymore, I’m sure Moffat and Mark Gatiss could figure out a way to make it happen.

5) Hugo Oberstein
German spies were a huge thing in the early 20th Century! This guy appeared in “The Adventure of the Second Stain” and was mentioned again in “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans.” He’s said to be one of the three most effective foreign agents living in Britain.

Are there any “Uh-doy” choices that we left out? Let us know in the comments below!